Dendias: Greece has a strong and convincing case under international law, unlike Turkey

Contrary to Turkey, Greece makes its case with fully supported and absolutely convincing arguments, which are the most modern in international law, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in a speech at the Annual General Assembly of the Federation of Enterprises and Industries of Peloponnese and Western Greece, which was held in Patras on Sunday.

The Turkish arguments, by contrast, “cannot hold up to any scrutiny, they are expression s of a neo-Ottoman revisionism, part of the ideology of a so-called regional super power that seeks to impose its will using the threat of force against its neighbours,” he added.

“I sincerely hope that Turkey clearly realises that this policy leads nowhere and returns to a course of convergence with the European Union, to the European and global values, and understands that Greece can be a bridge toward Europe, a bridge toward a better future that I firmly believe a large part of the Turkish people and Turkish society hope for if they are given the opportunity to speak freely,” Dendias said.

Turkey should be made to understand that the “gunboat diplomacy” of past eras has no place in the 21st century, he noted, while adding that he was “not greatly optimistic on this score”.
“Our own reply must be national concord and unity, our ability to present our positions and our conviction that, irrespective of parameters, our country is strong and can depend on its own Armed Forces and the forces of its society and economy in order to defend its national rights and the future of its next generations,” he said.

Dendias referred to a series of problematic Turkish positions that disregarded Greece’s sovereign rights under international law, noting that Greece had responded with a series of letters, the last and most interesting of which, from the standpoint of international law, was sent to the United Nations a few days ago.